NEW, ORIGINAL, QUICK, SIMPLE, SOFT Spider stitch crocheted stretchy hairband pattern!!

Hi All!
These hairbands are really quick and fun to crochet.
**** The new, improved pattern for this hairband is now available on this blog in my Patterns section or as a free PDF download on Ravelry.com by searching for "Cate's soft, stretchy spider stitch hairband". Please check out my other improved original crochet patterns on Ravelry.com at "Catherine Weaver's Ravelry Store".
All the Best and Happy Crocheting!
CateW :0)

Picture of my crocheted cloche hat with Irish roses and tips.

Hi All!
Here are a couple of  pictures of one of the crocheted cloche hats I made for my charity stall.

Crocheted Irish Rose cloche hat.

A closer up view which shows the stitches better.

These are quick to make. The pattern for this came from  the book "Crochet Hats!" by U.S. author Candi Jensen. The pattern I used is on page 76 "Retro Flowers" I added a picot edge for mine and used a different pattern for the flower ie an Irish Rose and stitched 6 x 4mm pearls into a ring in the centre of each rose.
I crocheted mine out of Bendigo Woollen Mills Classic 8ply. You can order online from them and they will ship to overseas in the U.S. or U.K or wherever. You could substitute DK or sportsweights yarn for this and use a 4mm (or size US G/6 or size UK 8) crochet hook.

All the Best and Happy Crocheting!!
CateW :0)

Picture of my yarn necklace, LINK to free pattern for Lion Brand Trellis yarn necklace and how to substitute different brands of trellis yarn to make your own.

Hi All!
Here is the Link to a free trellis yarn necklace pattern, as I have made many times from Lion Brand and also other finer types of trellis yarn, for my Fred Hollows charity crafts stall. See picture of one my attempts below. See below tips for using alternative brands to Lion Brand as Lion Brand Trellis Yarn is now discontinued.
LINK: http://store.knitting-warehouse.com/trellisnecklace.html
This site has a nice picture of one made. There are other patterns around that are exactly the same but easier to read and better set out but this one has the good photo.



I made this one from another brand of Trellis yarn ie not Lion Brand as this brand is now discontinued.

I have also used Sirdar Fireply,Twinkly Trail from JL and Eros II from Plymouth yarn company. There are also others out there. These alternatives are usually thinner in width than Lion Brand and have a more crinkled look when made up. It comes in many lovely colours including many multi-coloured trellis yarns not just plain colours.

Fortunately I was able to track down a few balls of Lion Brand Trellis Yarn before it was impossible to get and I worked out measurements, which I will share with you now, for each of the seven lengths of chain stitch required to make up this necklace. Here they are starting from the longest length: 

Make one length of chain stitch to each of the following lengths, with a crochet hook is the easiest (and I don't think it matters if the yarn twists as you go but by all means keep it untwisted if you want a slightly smoother look); 65cm (about 26 inches), 55cm (about 22 inches), 45cm(about 18 inches), 40cm(about 16 inches), 35cm(about 14 inches), 30cm(about 12 inches) and 25cm (about 10 inches).

Then follow the instructions using the pattern I have given at the store.knitting-warehouse website, URL as above, to construct it. In this way you can substitute any Trellis yarn brand and still get the lengths right.

Another tip: Once the lengths are all crocheted I find it is easier to tie the ends up together in a knot evenly if you lay them out flat in ascending order in front of you on a table first, ie smallest chain at the top, longest chain at the bottom with the ends as close together as you can, then tie them together in a slip type knot but pull the ends totally through.

**** Please note: This necklace can be made without a crochet hook if you prefer not to use one.

Enjoy!!

All the Best and Happy Crafting!!

CateW :0)



KIDS CRAFTS for holiday time.

Hi All!
I've just completed a successful week of kids crafting with some very happy and satisfied young crafters.
One of our young students, only six years old, made six memory wire bracelets and a witchy-poo card in the two-hour session!! Once she got the knack of how to hold and thread the wire with the beads she was away, there was no stopping her!
Here's some pics of the crafts Carrie (not her real name) and I made with the kids:



We made memory or remembrance wire beaded bracelets with the kids. These are not the actual ones the girls made since they took they're bracelets home with them.
What they did make was pretty spectacular.



Beady aliens. Using some glow-in-the-dark beads can add some real interest.



This is a sample of the Witchy-poo card we made. We made a simplified version with our kids; ie without the round cutout and magic spells at the front.


If you're from Melbourne, Australia, good quality memory wires are available for a good price from "Theos Discount Crafts" at 3 Macquarie Place, Boronia. Another Melbourne stockist is "Spacetraders" in St Kilda and you can order from them online.  If you're from overseas a search in Google or another search engine for "memory wire" or "remembrance wire" should bring up some stockists that will sell online to you or look out for it at your local craft supplies stockist.

The Witchy-poo card features a turning wheel held in place with a brad. Inside the little round window on the front of this card are written magic words and spells so the card can be used as a game; ie  kids can take turns turning the wheel so that a new magic spell or word appears which the child can cast or act out.

I sourced my pony beads (9mmx 6mm) for the Beady aliens online through e-Bay. The patterns for these came from a Beady kit I bought years ago. This kit, as far as I know, is no longer available unfortunately but give the kids an idea and they'll run with it creating they're very own alien beady designs. You can use scooby plastic for these but I just used some thin plastic tubing I found at a hardware shop. It's exactly the same sort of stuff just heaps cheaper.

That's it for now!
All the Best and Happy Crafting!!
CateW :0)

Three of my original crochet patterns added to PATTERNS page!!!

Hi All!
I have just added three of my original crochet patterns to the PATTERNS page of this blog. These patterns are for instructions on how to tailor make a crochet teddy bear's or doll's tu-tu, as posted below, a thread crochet pattern for wedding/Christmas mini bells and a beaded milk jug or creamer cover ( both of these thread crochet patterns are not posted here on the main page but can be accessed on the PATTERNS page of this blog). All patterns include pictures.

Enjoy!
All the Best and Happy Crafting!!
CateW :0)

How to tailor-make a crocheted tu-tu to fit any teddy bear or doll.

Back & front views of both two-strapped and halterneck versions of crochet bear/doll tu-tu.

Hi everyone!

Finally I am posting one of my own crochet patterns; instructions on how to tailor make a tu-tu for teddy bears or dolls.

Cate's crochet tu-tu dress pattern for Bears and Dolls.

Hook size: Select whatever size hook is appropriate for the yarn you are using.

Note: This pattern is written using Australian/British crochet terms. American crochet terms written are in brackets.

Starting with the waistband:

Make enough chains to fit around Bear's/doll's waist.

Do not join.

Ch1, turn, dc (sc) in each chain to end. Do not join.

Bib:

Hold waistband around bear's/doll's waist with opening at the back. Place markers on top of waistband at right and left hand side of bear's chest to mark points to crochet between for tu-tu's bib. Slip stitch to 1st marker.

Ch1, dc (sc) to next marker and continue thusly in rows between the markers until desired length is reached, approximately up to bear's neck. Do not finish. Do not turn.

Shoulder strap (make 2):

Continuing from the top corner of the bib; Make as many chains as will reach over the bears shoulder to top of waistband at the back, directly below the shoulder. Attach shoulder strap you've just made with sl.st being careful not to twist it.

Ch1, turn, dc (sc) along shoulder strap in each chain to end. Sl.st to top corner of bib and finish off.

Attach thread to other corner of the bib and make 2nd strap to match first. 

Skirt:

Rejoin yarn onto bottom edge of wasitband. Ch1, 2dc (2sc) into each unused loop of foundation chain to end.

3ch, turn, 2tr (2dc) in each dc (sc) to end.

Repeat last row until desired length is reached.

Note: Some experimentation may be necessary to achieve the desired degree and placement of frilling on the skirt. Multiple stitches into a single stitch in every stitch of the skirt's row will result in frilling. No more than three stitches into every stitch would be necessary. Where you place this frilling and how much of it you create is up to your particular preference.

Finishing Off:

Sew in all threads except the last one made, then sew up the back seam of the tu-tu, up to and including the waistband, with this last thread.

Variations:

A halter neck can be created by positioning a single shoulder strap to the correct length back around the bears neck and attaching it to the front of the opposite side of the bib with a bead or decorative button, do not attach strap to bib with a slst. The strap consists of a row of chains, turning and crocheting dc's (sc's) into each chain as described above for shoulder strap. To facilitate the bead or button a small loop must be incorporated into the end of the strap.

Copyright: Cathy Weaver, June 13th 2001

Well I do hope some of you can get some use out of these instructions.

All the best,

CateW :0)

Link and my pics of great crocheted FINGERLESS GLOVES pattern.

How to wear the fingerless gloves.



The lacy fingerless gloves I crocheted for my Fred Hollows Charity stall as per URL given below. A very nice pattern and very simple to crochet.

A close up view of the stitching.

Hi All!

It's been quiet here for a while. I haven't posted anything here for a time since I've been busy working on items for my charity crafts stall for The Fred Hollows Foundation: crocheted Lotus neck scarves, crocheted necklaces made from "ladder" or "trellis" yarn, crochet beaded sun hats, mini magnets, paper dolls, and crocheted long fingerless gloves. 

I found a good pattern for crocheted  fingerless gloves called "lacy fingerless gloves at http://crochetme.com/media/p/94426.aspx

It's an easy pattern and you can alter the size to fit anyone or any gauge yarn by adjusting the numbers of stitches you start with ie it has to be a multiple of 8 plus 5 for the pattern to work.

I will try and add a photo of the things I made here onto this post at a later stage so please look back here later.

All the Best and Happy Crafting!!

CateW :0)

FATHER'S DAY!!

Hi All!

It is a beautiful sunny Spring day here today.

We celebrated Father's Day here on the weekend firstly by going to a Bavarian restaurant in the mountains about an hour's drive up a winding road east of here in the Dandenong Ranges at a restaurant called "The Cuckoo". It was smorgasboard but we all were given potato soup first of all served up to our table.

 I had prawn salad and chicken liver pate and crackers for entree then hot potato, rice, fish pieces and steamed vegetables for mains. I then had a small piece of watermelon and a small piece of chocolate cake/slice for dessert followed by tea. There was entertainment which was great and very funny. It was a yodeller/cow bell ringer who also did some comedy. He got the customers going; clapping, cheering, singing, laughing and he had the children ringing bells also. We had a great time. That was on Saturday the day before Father's Day.We'll go back again for sure. Perhaps for the OctoberFest for my birthday.

On Sunday we had lunch at home with some other family members: potato salad, green salad, devilled eggs, marinated steak and chicken drumsticks followed by caramel pie topped with merangue and tea and coffee. Yumm!!!

What did you do for Father's Day this year??

I'll leave at this that for this post.

All the Best and Happy Crafting!!

CateW :0)

Teaching others to Blog and other stuff!!

Hi All!
Had a meeting with the manager of my local community house regarding making arrangements for a kids crafts holiday program I'm going to be running it with a friend Carrie (not her real name). Carrie attended the meeting also. All went well. We'll be sharing the advertising and marketing work with the manager. We'll be doing a range of crafts with the kids including beaded memory wire bracelets, beaded alien keyrings/bag adornments using pony beads and a basic beadweaving technique, a stamped and very cute little witch/Harry Potter type interactive card complete with magic words and matching bookmark and another type of bookmark ie a magnetic bookmark made with a strip of card folded down in half, two self-adhesive magnets and some stickers and punch-outs to decorate.

Asked the manager if she was interested in me showing her how to set up a blog for the community house and as a result I will be training two people on Monday how to set up a blog and get paid to do it!! Thank You Blogger.com!!

All the Best and Happy Crafting!!
Cate :0)

Check this cross-stitch out.......so cute!!!



Cross-stitched "Flower Power" VW beetle and caravan hitched up ready to go!!




Closer up shot of the Beetle




Closer up view of the caravan.



Hi All!

This is a fantastic cross-stitched card a friend from my social craft group stitched to give to a friend about to go on a caravanning holiday. Talk about "flower power"!!! I love the cute little VW beetle, the caravan and the blue colours in it. What a great going away gift!!

I couldn't resist sharing it with you.

All the Best!

Cate :0)



The crocheted afghan rug I made for my niece.

The afghan I made for my niece all spread out.

A closer up shot of the stitching.

Hi All again!!
Here is a couple of pics, including a closer up shot of the stitches, of the latest crocheted Mile-A-Minute afghan (rug) I made for my niece's seventh birthday. It took a year to make with many breaks to do other things. I made it using Bendigo Woollen Mills 8ply ( like Sportsweight or DK) Classic and Allegro with a 4mm hook. The pink /mauve colour was in Allegro the cranberry and cream colours were in Classic. Bendigo Woollen Mills sell their wool online on their website and I think they do ship overseas to the U.S. and Britain and allover too. The Classic and Allegro are beautiful 100% pure, soft Australian wools.

It's a big blanket for a young girl but I'm hoping she'll keep it for life as an heirloom to continue my Grandmother's tradition of making crocheted blankets for all her grandchildren. All my nieces and nephews, bar the youngest, who is still only 15 moths old, and my two sisters all have a crocheted rug that I've made plus I've sold a few. All of them are Mile-A-Minute designs; less ends to sew in that way especially if you use 200gram balls or cones that have no joins, (usually), like I use. They crochet up quickly especially if you use 12ply (like U.S. worsted weight) and a 6mm hook.

Please note: I'm not taking any orders to make these. It's just a family thing now that I do.

All the Best and Happy Crafting!!
CateW :0)

Pincushion rings.

How a pincushion ring is worn.

An assortment of pincushion rings.

Hi Everyone,
Here is a couple of pics of the pincushion rings we made at my last local CWA meeting. The materials are very cheap and include the lid of a P.E.T. soft drink ( ie soda pop like Coke or whatever) bottle,  a short length of hat elastic, a small circle of scrap fabric, a little bit of polyester stuffing, a little bit of braid or lace, a sewing needle, some sewing thread to match the fabric circle and some Tacky glue, and a toothpick to apply glue. Do I need to include full intructions here? I would think they could be made by looking at the photos.


I will give you a hint: stitch a tacking stitch around the edge of the circle to help gather "the cushion" in nicely before you add the stuffing. You can always adjust it by pulling on the tacking thread to tighten.


Oh, another tip: make two holes through the bottom of the plastic bottle lid with a hot metal skewer. This can be done easily if you have gas cooking top ie just stick the end of the metal skewer into the gas flame til it heats then make the two holes in the plastic lid with it.


Estimate the length of the hat elastic you'll need by wrapping a length around your finger plus allow extra for the knots. 


**** Don't forget to apply glue to the underside of the lid so that the fabric and stuffing will stay put and also glue the braid/lace onto the outside of the lid to finish.


Feel free to ask questions if you don't follow.


All the Best and Happy Crafting!!
CateW :0)

TRAUMA DOLLS FOR KIDS IN HOSPITAL.

Hi All!
Just wanted to let you know of a very worthwhile charity crafting exercise; making and donating Trauma Dolls for kids in hospitals.

I had my friends stuffing trauma dolls at my last social craft group meeting on Wednesday. One member had sewn some up out of the pre-washed calico you use for these dolls, and we were all turning them inside out and stuffing them ready for my mother to stitch closed. No face, hair, clothing or whatever is put on these dolls. They are perfectly plain calico dolls ready for doctors and children to draw on etc to help explain to each other what will happen, where the pain is etc, whilst the child is in hospital. Each child gets to keep and decorate the doll as she/he sees fit. I imagine any hospital that has child patients would find them a useful tool and soothing to the kids too. They are approximately 39cm tall (15 inches tall). Please see below attached scanned image of one, (the legs, arms and head are a bit cut off in this photo but you can still see the general shape of it).

When sewing the doll up remember to leave about a 6cm (a bit over 2 inches long) opening on the outside of one of the legs so you can fill the doll with stuffing, then hand stitch the opening close.

All the Best and Happy Crafting!!
CateW :0)

Recycled cards Christmas bauble pattern- link only

Hi All!
Here is the link to a really good crafts activity for kids, the elderly or for yourself as well as being inexpensive, attractive and great for the environment.

You can also make these for any time of year, not just for Christmas decorations, out of any greetings cards you like, to hang around your home or in your child's bedroom. Make the circles smaller for smaller versions or larger for larger versions. I use tacky glue for these as it bonds quicker and the circles will stick with just a short squeeze between your fingers without the whole thing falling into it's pieces. Normal white glue ( P.V.A.) is a disaster to try and use!

http://www.things-to-make-and-do.co.uk/paper-and-card-projects/baubles/baubles.html

Have fun!!
All the Best and Happy Crafting!!
CateW :0)

What have I got myself into now!!!

Hi All!
As with many community and not-for-profit organisations being a member can have its hazards (tongue in cheek).
My local group with the C.W.A. of Victoria (our group comprises of four branches) is setting up a blog and Mum and I thought we'd go to an information day about it. When we got there "word" had already spread that Mum and I were going to be co-webmasters of this blog!! So it seems we have "volunteered" for the task. I'm not complaining mind you I wanted to volunteer for it anyway. It's just too bad if I had decided I didn't want the job after the info session.

Had one of the group members, from another branch, Eileen, (not her real name), come yesterday to get a lesson from me on blogs and working with computer files and folders etc in general as well. That was fun. She's into crafts too so Mum, Eileen and I had a great chat and afternoon tea.

Eileen may be willing help me to find some other outlets for Crafters For Charity's crafts where we can get better prices for them. I didn't ask her about this. She brought it up herself and suggested the following: She suggested we share a stall, thus halving the costs for each of us. A couple of markets in more affluent areas were mentioned. Probably would have to get up at 4.30am in the morning to set up!!! Yikes!! I reckon I could manage it though. I'd need a couple of days off after each of these markets to recover though, :0). We're talking about only going twice a year or so to each of the two markets we discussed. Any more than that and it may be difficult to keep these new stalls plus my regular charity craft stalls stocked up. All these stalls would all be for The Fred Hollows Foundation of course, except for Eileen's crafts I guess she'd keep funds from any sales she made for herself.

What else has happened? Of yes! Trying to organise a kids' crafts school holiday program at my local Neighbourhood House (where I have my social craft group I mentioned before. It's like a community house where you can do all sorts of courses etc for a reasonable price. Local council pays for alot of it plus grants they manage to obtain). Got days and times picked out. Got two keen volunteers to join me and may get another one or two to help out. Plan to make beaded memory wire bracelets, beaded animals, have Mr Squiggle-type drawing games, doodling and drawing, maybe some stamping and cardmaking and bookmark making with the kids. Having two x 2-hour sessions hopefully, a morning one and an afternoon one, to give parents a choice. Will have max of 24 kids per session. It's all a trial. Parents will only have to pay $20 for the 2-hour session per child.

Anyway enough gabbing!! It's nearly dinner time!!
All the Best and Happy Crafting!!
CateW :0)

I'm back and ready to blog with a new look blog!!

Hi All,
         Here I am again after a break from blogging. Some of you may have been a follower of my previous blog, by the same name as this one. This blog is new and improved and I hope you will enjoy reading about my charity crafting exploits, craft tips and other things I get myself involved in. ( that's bad English isn't to end a sentence in a preposition. Oh well you know what I mean at least)
        Since the last time I wrote in my last blog I have started a social craft-based group at my local Neighbourhood House, become ever more involved in the CWA of Victoria ( ie Country Women's Association Of Victoria). I'm now media officer as well as crafts leader and the producer of the annual syllabus (ie list of activities), which I also organise and run, at my local branch.
        I still have a monthly charity crafts stall at a local crafts market and run Crafters for Charity (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crafters4charity) and raise funds for The Fred Hollows Foundation (www.hollows.org.au). We've now raised over $50,000 for charity now with the sales of our craftwork.  We have a good following of regular customers at the local craft market where we sell our work.
       I'd like to say a little more about the social group I run. We started out with just just a few of us attending regularly but now we have nine regulars. It's a brilliant group of women who've also become good friends. We have a good laugh, a chat and share some food and have tea and coffee over a three hour period although members may treat our group like a drop-in and come for the time they can manage. I'm not pernickity about how long they stay and when they turn up and leave. It's very relaxed, fun and loud! We've got this little room to have our "meetings" in at the moment but it won't take long and we'll be occupying a larger room. We could have it now but I don't want to displace the scrabble group just yet until we really are very squeezed in on a regular basis. We don't do too much craftwork I might add although we do discuss casually what each of us is working on etc and show off our new pattern books etc but it is mostly social. We talk about all sorts of things and learn as we go by sharing information and experiences.
I recommend this type of group to everyone. If you have a chance to join a relaxed group like this do so or better still start one yourself if there isn't one in your area. It's sooo much fun. Each meeting only costs each of us $2.50 to attend to cover insurance at the venue. It's so hassle free too.

Anyhow that's enough about my new group, now over two years young!! How time flys!!

I'll be back in the weeks to come to post some extremely inexpensive craft projects, one using butterfly paper clips to make angels and the other using recycled greetings and Christmas cards to make beautiful decorations. 

All the Best!
CateW :0)